A leitmotiv opens a dorr on the world.  Numerous leitmotivs are sheer joy.  For the great Ring cycle which displays the genius of Richard Wagner (5/1813-2/1883) aplenty, there are about 98 leitmotivs (some music historians argue there are more)played in the link below in brief examples.  Recognizing these leitmotivs is a key to thoroughly enjoying Wagner’s four part work  Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).   

James Morris as Hans Sachs, singing the finale of Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg, an aria with deep philosophical implications and references to Wagner’s view of art and culture.